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The Union of British Columbia Performers represents the interests of over 5000 members in British Columbia and the Yukon. UBCP is an independent branch of ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists), a national organization of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. Our members perform in feature films, television, videos, radio, digital media and the Internet, corporate videos, documentaries and commercial advertisements, working as actors, stunt performers, voice-over performers, vocalists, dancers, comedians, puppeteers and background performers.

We look forward to having you join our Union.

Your Rights as a Union Member…

• Union contracts guarantee your minimum fees, terms and working conditions
• The Union negotiates with producer associations to make gains in your contracts
• Union representatives ensure producers comply with the terms of Union contracts and are available to help resolve contract issues
• Members may participate in Union business by attending membership meetings
• Members may qualify to vote and participate in elections
• Full members are entitled to health insurance and retirement benefits.

Your Responsibilities…

• No non-union work: Union members may not work for producers who haven’t signed Union contracts
• Union members agree to abide by Union rules and work in a professional manner.

This page includes information on three forms of membership in UBCP:

Background Extra Members
If you are a non-member who works as a background performer on UBCP/ACTRA productions you can apply to join as a Background Extra Member if you have worked 24 days in the past 12 months.

Apprentice Members
If you are a non-member who has recently paid a permit for work on a UBCP/ACTRA production in a category which attracts use fee payments such as principal, actor, silent-on-camera, voice-over or stunt performer, you may be eligible to join as an Apprentice Member.

Full Members
If you are currently a UBCP/ACTRA Apprentice Member and have earned at least six eligible credits, you may qualify to apply to become a Full Member of UBCP/ACTRA. Performers who are members in good standing of other performer unions (CAEA, SAG, AFTRA) may also be eligible to become Full Members of UBCP/ACTRA.

Contact Member Services

Please read the joining requirements below. If you would like more information, or if you wish to make an appointment, please contact:

UBCP Member Services
Suite #400 - 1155 West Pender Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6E 2P4

Telephone: 604-689-0727

How to Become a Background Extra Member

Non-members who have worked as background performers on UBCP/ACTRA productions can apply to join as Background Extra Members of the Union of B.C. Performers.

In order to qualify you must have worked at least 24 days in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of your application. You must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant to be eligible. Background Extra Members may not work on non-union productions.

How do I join?
To join, please submit 24 original background performer vouchers or non-union extra vouchers to UBCP Member Services (make-up and wardrobe days do not count). A Member Services representative will confirm and copy your vouchers for your member file, and will then contact you to arrange an appointment to sign-up.

You will be required to bring the following information:

• Proof of your Canadian citizenship or landed immigrant status (i.e. Canadian passport, birth certificate or citizenship card)
• Your current head shot and resume.

Your original documents will be returned to you. If you do not provide all the necessary documentation you will not be able to join.

Background Extra Members are required to work at least 15 days every year from April 1 to March 31 (waived for the current dues year) and must pay Annual Dues of $75.00 (waived for the current dues year) plus Working Dues (waived for the current dues year).

What are the benefits of membership?
Background Extra Members have preference of engagement over non-members for Union Background Performer Vouchers on UBCP productions. Applicable permits will be deducted from Background Extra Members working on Union Voucher or Union Contract.

As a Background Extra Member, you have a voice and vote within the UBCP Background Extra Caucus and may stand for election as Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, or Member-at-Large of the Caucus Executive. The Chair of the Caucus sits as an Executive Board Member of UBCP/ACTRA.

Background Extra Members may be invited to attend certain membership meetings, information meetings, and member education workshops and lectures. Background Extra Members may qualify to vote on the ratification of collective agreements and on strike votes, based on eligibility requirements.

How to Become an Apprentice Member

In order to become a Full Member of UBCP/ACTRA, a performer must first undertake an apprenticeship. You must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant to be eligible. When you become an Apprentice Member you are recognized internationally as a professional performer. You are expected to respect and uphold the principles of your Union as they are defined in the ACTRA Constitution, ACTRA By-laws & UBCP By-Laws. Apprentice Members may not work on non-union productions.

The first step toward becoming an Apprentice Member is to obtain and register an eligible credit.

What is an eligible credit?
An eligible credit is obtained when a performer pays a permit for work on UBCP/ACTRA productions in a category which attracts use fee payments such as principal, actor, silent-on-camera, voice-over or stunt performer. Work as a background performer, stand-in or photo-double is not subject to payment for use and is not an eligible credit.

How do I register my credit?
Non-members must register their first eligible credit within six weeks of the date of the performance, or the credit expires. To register, please contact UBCP Member Services and let us know you want to become an Apprentice Member. A Member Services representative will arrange an appointment for you. You will be required to bring the following information:

• Proof of your Canadian citizenship/landed immigrant status (i.e. Canadian passport, birth certificate or citizenship card)
• A copy of the contract and pay stub for the credit you are registering
• Your current headshot and resume, and
• $75.00 for your annual Apprentice fee. (April 1 – March 31)

If you do not provide all the necessary documentation you will not be able to register.

What if I don't register within the six weeks?
If you do not register your first credit within six weeks of the performance, it expires. Expired credits cannot be used toward membership in the future.

How do Apprentice Members qualify to become Full Members?
Once you are an Apprentice Member, each time you pay a permit for work in a category which attracts use fee payments, you automatically earn an additional credit. These credits, including the first one registered, count toward the six credits required to qualify for Full Membership.

You must apply for Full Membership within six weeks of obtaining your sixth credit.

What will happen if I don’t apply for Full Membership with my sixth credit?
Article 305(b)(vii) of the ACTRA Constitution is clear: if you do not apply with the sixth credit, it could result in closure of your Apprentice file. If your file is closed, you will lose all of the rights and privileges available to Apprentice Members under the ACTRA Constitution and By-laws & UBCP By-Laws and under the ACTRA and UBCP collective agreements. If you apply for membership in UBCP in the future, your previous credits will not count toward membership.

Can I accumulate credits as an Apprentice any other way?
Once you have registered as an Apprentice Member, you may be eligible for one Education Credit toward Full Membership if you are a graduate with a degree or certificate for acting, theatre or film studies from an accredited public university or college.

You should apply to the UBCP Membership Committee with the following:

• A cover letter stating your request
• A sealed official final transcript of the courses you completed that shows the primary focus of the degree was acting
• A photocopy of your diploma or certificate
• Your current headshot and resume.

Work permits are not issued for performances on Public Service Announcements. Apprentice Members may contact the Commercial Department within six weeks of the performance and request to purchase a permit in order to earn a credit for this work. Once you have paid for the permit, contact Member Services to register the credit.

Credits cannot be obtained for performances on Ultra Low Budget film & television productions.

Apprentice Members are entitled to:

• all the rights provided in the applicable Collective Agreements
• preference of engagement over Extra Members and non-members for Union background vouchers on UBCP film and television productions
• participate in membership meetings with a voice, but no vote
• receive a 15% discount at Casting Workbook, an online resource for agents and casting directors (www.castingworkbook.com)
• receive the Union newsletter and other member communications.

What if I don’t join but continue to work on Union productions?
If you have not joined as an Apprentice Member, and have six or more expired credits, the Union is obliged to charge you an additional premium of 50% on subsequent work permits in accordance with ACTRA By-Law No. 4.

Copies of the ACTRA Constitution and By-laws & UBCP By-Laws are available from the UBCP office at Suite 300, 856 Homer Street in Vancouver, or by following the link to the Document Library on our website at www.ubcp.com.

How to Become a Full Member

Performers who are currently UBCP/ACTRA Apprentice Members and who have earned at least six eligible credits qualify to apply to become a Full Member of UBCP/ACTRA. You must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant to be eligible.

How do I join?
To join as a Full Member of UBCP/ACTRA, you must:

• Be an active UBCP/ACTRA Apprentice Member
• Have earned six eligible credits
• Agree to abide by the ACTRA Constitution and By-Laws and UBCP By-Laws, and
• Pay the following fees:
  
  • an Initiation Fee ($450.00 for Apprentice Members)
  • annual dues of $195.00. (April 1 – March 31)
  • working dues of 2.25% of your gross earnings

What if I am a Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA) member?
You can apply to be a Full Member of UBCP/ACTRA if you are an active, full member of the Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA) and you have earned an eligible credit on a UBCP/ACTRA production. Under a reciprocal agreement with CAEA, you are entitled to a discount on your UBCP/ACTRA initiation fee. The initiation fee for CAEA members is $225.00, and annual dues are $195.00.

What if I am a member of SAG or AFTRA?
If you are an active, full member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) or the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), reciprocal agreements with these organizations allow you to apply to join as a Full Member of UBCP/ACTRA. You must apply through the UBCP Membership Committee.

Your application should include the following:

• A cover letter stating your request
• A copy of your current SAG or AFTRA membership card
• Your current headshot and resume
• Proof of your Canadian citizenship/landed immigrant status (i.e. Canadian passport, birth certificate or citizenship card)
• Copies of six contracts for principal work done in the SAG or AFTRA jurisdiction
• Proof of payment of a non-member permit on a UBCP/ACTRA production.

The UBCP Membership Committee will examine your documentation which should prove that you have lived and worked in the SAG or AFTRA jurisdiction and demonstrate that you had a bona fide (good faith) intention of working in that jurisdiction. An application that cannot meet these criteria will not be accepted.

What are Execptional Circumstances?
The term “Professional Reputation” was updated to “Exceptional Circumstances" in the ACTRA Constitution (Article 3 – Membership, 303, b.). The criteria is unchanged and remains a very high standard for Full Membership status.

A performer who is applying for Membership based on Exceptional Circumstances must be very well known (in the media) and his/her name widely recognized; and able to prove their reputation (DVDs, contracts, etc.). This clause is usually accessed by performers from other countries where such work may not be unionized and where the UBCP/ACTRA does not have a reciprocal agreement in place.

The Exceptional Circumstances criteria may also apply to performers who are members of a union that is affiliated with the Federation of International Artists (FIA) such as Equity in the United Kingdom.

Extra work and non-union work that the performer has done is not considered when making an application for membership based on Exceptional Circumstances.

The performer must make application to the UBCP Membership Committee. The application should consist of the following:

• Cover Letter detailing the request
• Resume & Headshot
• Copy of Current Membership Card
• Letters of Recommendation
• Proof of Canadian Citizenship or Landed Immigrant Status

If applying as a member of another union, the following is also required:

• Copy of a current union card from the other union
• Proof of their first eligible credit in UBCP/ACTRA’s jurisdiction
• Copy of six principal contracts worked in the other union's jurisdiction
• If the documentation required is in a language other than French or English, an official translation is required.

If applying as an established artist, the following is also required:

• Copies of professional engagement contracts
• If a vocalist, include at least one copy of released recordings (CDs)
• DVD(s) of recorded performance work
• CD of radio work

How will I know if my application was successful?
UBCP Membership Committee recommendations are submitted to the UBCP Executive Board for approval. All applicants will receive the decision of the Executive Board in writing. If your application is successful, you will be invited to join as a Full Member. Your Initiation Fee will be $900.00 and your annual dues $195.00.

What if I am a former Full Member and I want to re-join?
Resigned Full Members of UBCP/ACTRA may apply to the UBCP Membership Committee to re-join as a full member, or start over with a new Apprenticeship using an eligible credit. If you choose to apply to rejoin as a full member you will be required to pay any fees that were outstanding at the time of your resignation and up to two years’ outstanding annual dues. Performers who re-join as Full Members must also pay a $900.00 Initiation Fee and the annual dues of $195.

Performer Code of Conduct